. >> reporter: the debate was moderated in a zen, low-key style we pbs's jim lehrer. when he included funding to be cut, he included lehrer's orrin programming. >> i like big bird. i like you, too. but i'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for it. >> reporter: it was a debate full of numbers and domestic policy details. >> if the tax plan he described were a tax plan i would support, absolutely not. i'm not looking for a $5 trillion tax cut. >> now, five weeks before the election, he's saying that his big, bold idea is, never mind. >> reporter: george, up until last night, the obama campaign had succeeded in turning this from a referendum on president obama to a choice. and they were painting mitt romney as an unacceptable alternative. but that dynamic seemed to change last night. it seemed to be very much a referendum on president obama. and mitt romney presented himself as a credible alternati alternative. george? >> that's what mitt romney wanted. >>> let's get the view from the romney camp right now. david muir covers